It is difficult to remotely identify a discharged firearm and distinguish that discharged firearm from other proximately discharged firearms. For example, when law enforcement officers are engaging one or more suspects, it is difficult for those law enforcement officers to distinguish between friendly and hostile fire. This is important because law enforcement officers must make safety decisions that depend upon the source of any discharged firearm. Unfortunately, without reliable information on the source of a discharged firearm, it is common for law enforcement officers to err on the side of caution and unnecessarily discharge firearms without fully understanding the situation. This phenomenon is known as “contagious gunfire”, which describes the concept that when one person in a standoff discharges a firearm others will also discharge their firearms without understanding the source of the original shot. This result escalates conflict and increases the risks of injury, death, and property damage. Thus, the ability to identify a discharged firearm and distinguish that discharged firearm from other proximately discharged firearms would reduce or eliminate the chance of contagious gunfire occurring.
Accordingly, while desirable results have been achieved, there exists much room for improvement. What is needed then is a firearms safety mechanism to identify a discharged firearm.